Rocky Krsnich

Rocco Peter Krsnich

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 174 lb.
• High School West Allis Central High School
• Debut September 13, 1949
• Final Game September 26, 1953
• Born August 5, 1927 in West Allis, WI USA
• Died February 14, 2019 in Overland Park, KS USA

BR page

Biographical Information

17-year-old infielder Rocky Krsnich was signed as an amateur free agent by the Philadelphia Phillies before the 1945 season. He spent his initial season with the Wilmington Blue Rocks of the class B Interstate League, appearing in 74 outings and hitting at a .266 clip. Rocky spent five seasons in the minors before getting a look at the major league style.

During that period the Phillies sent him to the New York Yankees before the 1946 season and a year later he had a solid season in 1947 with the Quincy Gems of the class B Three-I League hitting for a .318 average while playing shortstop. Rocky hit .272 in 1948, this time with 15 homers, for the Norfolk Tars of the class B Piedmont League. On November 15th, Rocky was drafted by the Chicago White Sox from the Yankees in the 1948 minor league draft.

1949 found Rocky with the Memphis Chickasaws and with the White Sox. With Memphis, he appeared in 142 games and hit .318 with 20 homers. while with the White Sox, in his first trip to the big leagues, he was at the hot corner in 16 games and hit for a .218 average. Rocky had three good seasons from 1950 to 1952; with the Memphis club again in 1950, he hit .272 with 12 home runs and with the Seattle Rainiers in 1952 he hit .295 and played out the year with the major league White Sox, making 40 appearances at third base but hitting only .231.

The White Sox kept Rocky in the majors the entire 1953 season; the 25-year-old appeared in 64 games, all at third base again, but managed only a .202 batting average and this spelled the end of his major league career. His final three-year major league totals showed a .215 batting average in 120 games played.

Krsnich played three more seasons in the high minors but never received another invite to the majors. He ended his 11-season career in 1956 with a lifetime minor league batting average of .272 with 79 home runs. After leaving pro baseball, Rocky continued playing top flight semi-pro ball for several years with the Wichita-based Rapid Transit Dreamliners, and in 1962 he was named MVP of the National Baseball Congress World Series tournament. He also became an investment broker in Wichita and retired to Overland Park, KS.

His brother, Mike Krsnich, was an outfielder for the Milwaukee Braves in 1960 and 1962.

Sources

• Baseball Players of the 1950s
• BR Minors page